Wtop.com reports that the IRS is warning Americans to watch out for an email that appears to come from the IRS, saying something like: “Your company has been included in the list of clients having tax liabilities. You must repay your tax liabilities as soon as possible.” It’s typically signed from the “Operations Support Department, Internal Revenue Service.”

Instead of responding, you should report it and delete it.

“The IRS never does that,” says Eric Friedman, director of Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection.

The IRS will never ask consumers for sensitive financial information over email.

If an email directs you to a site that asks for a Social Security number, or any other financial information, this is a huge red flag that you’ve been targeted in a phishing scam.

Phishers are scammers who use what look like legitimate websites to trick people into giving up their sensitive information. According to the IRS, there have been many phishing schemes that have used the agency’s name and a fake Web address. Here’s what to do if you receive a phishing email:
1. Alert the IRS of suspicious activity at phishing@irs.gov.
2. Do not respond to the email. Instead, delete it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and her family, may have been victims of phone hacking. The Irish Independent reported that they were targeted and the extent of the hacking was widespread.

Phone hacking involving the Royal Family was originally exposed in 2005, when news stories were written that contained information from voicemails belonging to the family. An initial investigation identified only five victims — Prince William, Prince Harry and three royal aides — who were targeted by the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and the News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman. Royal aides said that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were approached by police in connection with the latest investigation.
A new investigation revealed that Mulcaire and Goodman also accessed voicemails of many more royal officials and members of the Royal Family, as well as a wide circle of their family and friends.

After the initial investigation, Goodman was jailed for four months and Mulcaire for six months after both admitted illegally intercepting messages. It is unclear if additional charges will be made.

Popularity: 1% [?]

A national data breach notification bill passed a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel this week, pushing it forward for a full committee vote, according to InfoSecurity.

The bill, called the Secure and Fortify Electronic (SAFE) Data Act (HR 2577), would create national standards for data breach notification. It would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to levy civil penalties if companies or entities fail to respond to a data breach within 48 hours of determining the extent of the data breach and the identities of individuals affected.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), who said: “With cyber attacks clearly on the rise, something needs to be done immediately. In April of this year alone, some 30 data breaches at hospitals, insurance companies, universities, banks, airlines and governmental agencies impacted nearly 100 million records. And that’s in addition to the massive breaches at Sony, Epsilon and Citigroup.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

According to the Detroit Free Press, a Michigan bride — still in her wedding dress — was arrested on a felony warrant and briefly jailed after exchanging vows at a local church.

The 53-year-old woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was wanted on a 3-year-old warrant for identity theft.

Blackman-Leoni Township Public Safety Officer Rick Gillespie says police believed the woman had moved to Florida, but they got tips that she would be back in town for Saturday’s wedding. She was arrested at City of Zion Ministries just after the ceremony.

Gillespie says the woman was held for less than about 30 minutes before being picked up by her husband.

Gillespie says officers gave her the chance to change clothes before she was taken to jail, but she declined.

Popularity: 1% [?]

A new ID:A Labs study from ID Analytics found that a startling 140,000 identity frauds are perpetrated on minors each year.

Child identity theft is becoming increasingly common, mainly because they’re easy targets. They have no credit so it’s easy to get new credit in their names. Also, because children don’t apply for credit or order credit reports, the crime can go undetected for years. Unfortunately, this makes it harder for kids to clear their names once the crime is detected.

The ID:A Labs study is based on a review of over 172,000 children whose identities were protected through ID Analytics Consumer Notification Service (CNS) from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. CNS directly connects consumers and companies to alert consumers in real-time when their identity is used for consumer transactions, potentially without their permission. In addition to the rate of child identity fraud, the study also found:

• Credit card and wireless activity most common—60 percent of the potential fraudulent identity use alerts sent to minors originated from the credit card industry. The vast majority of the remaining alerts were from the telecommunications industry, mostly wireless providers.
• Take the alerts seriously—minors who received an alert through the service were seven times more likely to experience fraud than an adult. They received 0.5 percent of the identity use alerts, but yielded 3.5 percent of the cases of fraud.

“Child identity fraud poses complex challenges to consumers, businesses and regulators. Unfortunately, minors’ identities are particularly appealing to fraudsters because their personal data is untainted, legitimate and less likely to be monitored for misuse,” said Tom Oscherwitz, chief privacy officer at ID Analytics. “This new study finds that child identity fraud is more than a hypothetical risk. Well over 140,000 U.S. kids are victims of the crime today. Our children need better protection. A comprehensive solution to child identity fraud requires a layered approach reflecting advances in technology and business processes, legislative guidance and consumer education.”

Here are some tips for parents to limit the opportunities a thief has to steal a child’s identity:
• Avoid giving out your child’s Social Security number unless necessary. Make sure that insurance companies take proper precautions with your child’s information and ask your school not to use your child’s Social Security number to identify him or her.
• Shred all papers that your child’s personal information before throwing them out.
• Monitor incoming mail in your child’s name. Credit card offers or debt collection notices may be red flags that your child’s credit has been compromised.
• Never carry your child’s Social Security card in your wallet.
• Teach your children not to give out personal information without your permission, especially on MySpace or other social networking sites. These sites are often targeted by fraudsters looking for personal information.

By understanding the risks and taking extra precautions, you can ensure that your child’s financial and identity records stay secure. For optimal protection, consider enrolling in an identity theft protection service, such as our IDFreeze product, a complete solution designed to protect against identity theft and credit fraud.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Federal prosecutors busted a phony medical provider for pretending to be a licensed caregiver for elderly home-bound patients in New Jersey, according to Forbes.

Patrick Lynch established Visiting Doctors of New Jersey in order to provide medical care for elderly home-bound patients. At first, he hired licensed physicians and nurse practitioners to conduct paid visits. However, when he didn’t pay them, they quit.

Lynch then assumed their identities, pretending to be the licensed professionals he once employed, using their names and government-issued identification numbers to write prescriptions and submit billings to Medicare, among other things. As a consequence, hundreds of claims were billed to Medicare for hundreds of illegal visits to elderly patients. And his patients unknowingly received care from a fraud.

On June 11, 2011, Lynch admitted to unlawfully treating patients, prescribing medicine, and ordering procedures while posing as a licensed physician with his medical practice. He pleaded guilty to one count each of:
• Health Care Fraud: maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense;
• Aggravated Identity Theft: mandatory sentence of two years in prison, to run consecutive to any sentence imposed on the health care fraud charge.

Sentencing is currently scheduled for October 17, 2011.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Your Social Security number is a goldmine for identity thieves, as it helps them get credit or loans in your name. However, according to Time Magazine, many banks still using SSNs as a major form of customer identification, putting their customers at risk.

A recent study by Javelin Strategy & Research reveals that 70 percent of the biggest credit card issuers in the U.S. use them in at least some cases as a way to verify a customer’s identity when he or she contacts the company. “It’s easy and they haven’t changed their systems,” says Phil Blanks, the study’s author and head security and risk analyst at Javelin. “My guess is they’d tell you they’ve done it this way for years.” Banks and lenders also collect your Social Security number when you fill out a credit card application (or open a bank account), so they already have the numbers on hand.

With data breaches like the recent one at Citi’s credit card unit that led to $2.7 million in fraudulent charges, it’s clear that these practices are risky. Even large, reputable financial institutions aren’t immune from the work of motivated hackers.
“Consumers should not presume that their bank is protecting their Social Security number adequately,” he says. “It may be available for hacking and some banks may be inappropriately using it as a password verification.”

Right now, it’s hard to avoid giving your Social Security number to financial institutions, as many require it. However, this may change in the near future. Earlier this year, the agency testified in front of a Congressional subcommittee about the problem and recommended legislation (not limited to the financial services industry) to limit over-reliance on Social Security numbers.

Read more: http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/08/how-banks-are-aiding-and-abetting-identity-theft/#ixzz1RXXvhCIj

Popularity: 1% [?]

Indiana’s attorney general says health insurer WellPoint Inc. will pay a $100,000 fine and take other steps after admitting it waited months to notify Indiana customers that Social Security numbers, health records, and other personal information might have been compromised, according to Forbes.

The company agreed to provide up to two years of credit monitoring and identity-theft protection to 32,000 affected consumers and reimburse up to $50,000 each for any breach-related losses under a court agreement filed last week.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says a consumer notified WellPoint in February and March 2010 that records containing personal information were potentially accessible. WellPoint immediately secured the site, but didn’t tell customers for three months.

Popularity: 1% [?]